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A STATEMENT 



BY 



JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 



IT is always painful to expose the transactions of domestic life be- 
fore the public eye ; and the honorable mind recoils with inex- 
pressible reluctance from the task, when it involves the obtrusion 
of scenes of a delicate and distressing character. But there are 
occasions when self-respect — when self-preservation — demands a 
sacrifice of these natural feelings ; and when a regard for others, 
near and dear, whose good name and happiness are inseparably 
connected with our own, requires a performance of the task, as a 
sacred, though painful duty. Silence under wrong and calumny 
is often a virtue ; but it ceases to be so, when it permits injury to 
reputation and to the feelings of relatives and friends. 

In the late proceedings for a divorce instituted by Mrs. Schott 
at the Court of Common Pleas of the City of Philadelphia, it was 
the advice of counsel (and the advice harmonised with my own 
wishes) that I should make no defence, but suffer the divorce to 
be decreed by default. The motives were — delicacy and policy* 
I could not appear in a defensive position without exposing, 
scenes, which, though involving not myself, but others, I desired, 
as I still desire, to preserve under the veil of secrecy ; and I was 
instructed by counsel, that any defence I should make would ope- 
rate virtually as opposition to the application for divorce, and 
that it was scarcely probable that the divorce, which I was most 
anxious, for my own sake, should be obtained, could be granted, 
if opposed by me. I did not appear, to oppose it ; and the di- 
vorce was granted. The grant of the divorce, which was, of all 
things on earth, by me most anxiously and devoutly wished for, 
I then regarded, and now regard, as the greatest blessing which 
could be bestowed on me by human agency. I would, at any 
moment, have infinitely preferred the perilling of my own life to 
1 



2 

doing any act which could possibly endanger the grant of that, 
without which existence would have been a curse. My non- 
appearance in court has been, undoubtedly, in some quarters, con- 
strued into a tacit admission of the truth of the charges against 
me, upon which the application for divorce was founded. But 
now that the divorce has been obtained, I am free to perform the 
duty, however reluctantly, of replying to these charges, and of 
narrating, in brief outline, the circumstances which led to the 
application, as well as those connected with my meeting with 
Mr. Pierce Butler. .^ 

Early in March last, I had occasion to proceed to New York 
in company with Mr. Pierce Butler, upon business which re- 
quired our personal attention in that city. Mrs. Schott desired me 
to take her with me, that she might go to the opera. I agreed 
to do so ; and to make the jaunt more agreeable to her, I invited 
her two sisters, married ladies, to join the party ; and one of them 
accepted the invitation, and went with us. Mr. Pierce Butler, 
at that time, I regarded as my friend, and had entire confidence in 
him. Some circumstances of conduct, indeed, on his part and 
on that of Mrs. S. had previously occurred, to which I might 
have taken, and, to a certain extent, did take exception ; but as I 
did not conceive Mr. B. capable of any base intentions, or Mrs. 
S. of any conduct unbecoming a lady and a wife, I easily brought 
myself to view them as thoughtless imprudences, and therefore 
passed them over, — though not without remonstrating with Mrs. 
S. on the subject. All former circumstances, however, had been 
forgotten ; and I proceeded to New York without suspicion. 
Here the refusal of Mrs. S., while in a public hotel, to occupy the 
same room with me, and her insisting, contrary to my wishes 
and in spite of my remonstrances, upon having a separate cham- 
ber, — to which she removed her baggage, without my knowledge, 
the morning after our arrival, — which chamber was apart from 
her sister's and my own,— were the first circumstances that created 
a painful impression on my mind ; but it was on the night of Sa- 



3 

turday, the 9th 7 at midnight, that a circumstance occurred, to 
which I have no desire to give publicity, nor to say one word 
more of it, than that it was of a character to justify — in fact, to 
render imperatively necessary, — all the steps which I took in con- 
sequence of it. What was sufficiently painful in the circumstance, 
became still more so from its happening in a public hotel, where 
I could not take such steps as I desired to take, without giving a 
scandalous notoriety to the affair, and involving — or rather con- 
necting — in the disgrace of it, a member of the party who had no 
implication in it, and who was a lady under my protection as my 
guest. These considerations, and her entreaties and tears, not 
only prevented my taking any violent steps, and induced me to 
delay seeking satisfaction for the wrong I had received, until I 
could return to Philadelphia ; but were the cause of my allowing 
Mr. Butler to keep up the appearance of still being a member of 
the party, so long as we continued at the hotel. This was, un- 
doubtedly, a weakness on my part ; and Mr. B., with the knavish 
craft natural to his character, has taken advantage of it, in his let- 
ter accepting my challenge, as an argument to prove that he could 
not have done me any wrong, or that I did not then think it one. 
My letter to Mr. Otis, of 11th of April, in answer to this, will, 
perhaps, satisfactorily explain my conduct. But I must here 
again say, that I was in a public hotel with my party, where the 
slightest act, — and certainly the expulsion of Mr. B. from the 
party, — would have produced a shameful explosion ; that I was 
myself desirous to avoid this ; and that the lady alluded to, im- 
plored me, out of regard to her and our respective families, — and 
wrung from me a promise not to expose them in New York, — to 
do nothing, and to submit to Mr. B's remaining, in appearance, a 
member of the party, as if nothing had happened, until we left 
New York. Nobody knows better than Mr. B. the true state of 
the case, — that I distinctly told him on Sunday, the day after the 
occurrence, that " nothing but my promise to the lady in ques- 
tion, protected him from my just indignation while in New 



York." And that no doubt should remain as to to the course I 
intended to pursue, I wrote and caused to be delivered to him, 
on Monday, the 11th, a note, of which the following is a copy— 
formally expressing the intention, on paper, which I had before 
distinctly declared to him in words : 

Sib, 

I scarcely deem it necessary to say to you, that, on our return 
to Philadelphia, all intercourse between us must cease, and that 
your visits to my family must be discontinued. 

I trust that the time may yet come when I shall be able, with- 
out compromising others, to vindicate my own honor. 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 

Pierce Butler, Esq. Astor House, March 11, 1844. 

That, in this period of inaction and apparent calm, and of 
attempted concealment of a grievous wrong, there was no want 
of those feelings natural to a man on such an occasion, will be 
apparent from the following extract of a letter to my brother, 
G. Bryan Schott, from H. Toland, Jr. Esq., my friend and business 
correspondent in New York, who saw me the day I left that city, 
but who was entirely ignorant of what had happened. 

New York, 9th April, 1844. 
Dear Sir : — I have known your brother so intimately, that I 
needed no request to suspend my opinion about his present mis- 
fortunes. When he came to see me on the day he left for Phila- 
delphia, I was shocked and distressed at the change in his manner 
and appearance, though he said nothing to me, (and I am at this 
time ignorant of the true state of the case,) yet I was satisfied that 
something terrible must have occurred. 

Yours faithfully, 

(Signed) H. TOLAND, Jr. 

G. Bryan Schott, Esq., Philadelphia. 



Upon the same day, I returned to Philadelphia, with Mrs. S, 
and the lady, her companion ; and on Wednesday, the 13th, 1 
addressed Mrs. S. the following note, which will perhaps explain 
itself; or, at all events, will indicate some of the feelings by 
which I was agitated, as well on account of what had happened, 
as of the frame and temper of mind exhibited by Mrs. S. under 
circumstances to me so overpoweringly afflictive : 

" Having weighed every adverse consideration that could influ- 
ence me in our difficulties, having balanced how far I ought to 
protect your character and prevent the exposure of my own 
degradation, and reflected on what is due to my injured feelings, 
and the satisfaction my wounded honor calls for, I have decided 
that the breach between us is beyond all reparation. A separa- 
tion, therefore, is inevitable, and, of course, my injuries must be 
made known to your family, if not laid open to the world. Had 
you made a confession of your guilt, had you displayed the slight- 
est penitence or remorse, had you admitted what I saw with my 
own eyes, I would have forgiven you — not that anything could 
restore my lost affection for you; but I should then have cherished 
some hope of reclaiming you. But after tbe effrontery you have 
shown, I am convinced that you have fallen so far from your 
original purity as to be beyond recovery ; and therefore, you 
have forfeited all claim to my protection. As there is a just God 
in Heaven, whatever calamities may ensue, whatever blood may 
be shed, it rests on your soul. 

(Signed) JAMES SCHOTT, Jr." 

Philadelphia, March 13, 1844. 

Three days afterwards, I intercepted a letter written by Mrs. 
S«, and addressed to her sister, the lady who had been with us at 
New York. The following is a true copy of a paragraph which 
I extracted from it : 



"Perhaps it would be bettpr for Mr. B. to send the 
letter to-night,— BUT I DO NOT ADVISE YOU, YOU 
CAN BEST JUDGE : — he appears calm, and resolved ; 

HE IS NOT VIOLENT. I ONLY HOPE IT MAY BE SUICIDE 

HE HAS DETERMINED ON ; BUT I THINK A DUEL 

WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCE." 

I need not comment upon this paragraph — the kind of spirit it 
indicated — the hope it expressed — nor upon the effect it produced 
upon me. I might have hesitated — I had hesitated — in taking 
the steps which I felt that my own honor required ; because with 
all the wrongs I had suffered, I could not but think painfully of the 
consequences these steps would bring upon her. This intercepted 
letter put an end to my hesitation, and I waited immediately upon 
Mr. Dallas, as legal counsel ; and, at my request, he that night 
drew up the following articles of separation : 

" Circumstances of a peculiarly painful nature, which it is deem- 
ed best not to recapitulate here or to permit mention of any where 
by the signers of this paper or by their friends ; but which im- 
press upon the minds of the parties the necessity of early and 
permanent separation, have determined Mr. James Schott, Jr. 
and his wife Ellen, to live henceforward apart from each other ; 
and in order to effect this in a manner as little distressing to the 
feelings of their connexions and friends, and as becoming to them- 
selves, as possible, they adopt and reciprocally engage to carry 
into execution the following course of action : 

" First — Mrs. Schott is to leave her husband's house, and to re- 
turn to her father's within a period of two months,* taking with 
her all her wardrobe and other personal effects procured and 
intended for her exclusive use, comfort or ornament. 



* In the original articles of separation Mrs. Schott was to have left my house and 
gone to her father's immediately, instead of at the expiration of two months. This 
modification was agreed to by me, to save Mrs. Schott from exposure. 



Second — Mr. Schott disclaims now, and engages to disclaim 
at any time in more form if required, all right or wish to take, 
have, or in any respect interfere with, the property and estate of 
his wife, whether the same has heretofore been secured to her by 
marriage settlement, or has, since their marriage, or shall here- 
after, come to her possession or right. 

" Third — The parties are henceforth to be entire strangers to 
each other ; and should unforseen events render their co-opera- 
tion in matters of business necessary to their respective interests, 
the same shall be effected through the agency of others. 

" Into this agreement we mutually and voluntarily 
enter this day of , 1844." 

Having proceeded thus far in describing the steps which I took 
in regard to Mrs. S., I now think it necessary to disclose those 
which I instituted in relation to Mr. Butler. His friends have 
professed to think it very strange that I should suffer so long a 
period to elapse after the occurrence at New York, before making 
a demand upon him for satisfaction, other than that contained in 
my letter to him at the Astor House of March the 11th. It will 
be seen that the delay arose, first, from unforseen difficulties 
which I encountered in procuring the services of a friend ; and 
next, after I had procured one, from the course of conduct which 
was adopted by Gen. McNeill, my official adviser in the business. 
Upon Tuesday, the 12th of March, the very day after I had 
written to Mr. Butler the note already inserted, I wrote to my 
old friend Purser McBlair, U. S. N., at Baltimore, requesting his 
friendly assistance ; and confidently expected, day by day, to 
receive a favorable answer; until, on the 19th the following 
reply came to hand, which explains his delay in answering, and 
his inability to grant my request. 

U. S. Ship Plymouth, 
Boston Harbor, March IS, 1844. 
My dear Schott, 
Your letter of 12th inst. reached me but an hour or two ago. 



8 

How much I regret you had not known where to find me, when 
you wrote ; for then, I could have left for a few days, and would 
have done so with much pleasure to serve a friend. Now 'tis 
impossible. Our ship is under sailing orders. We leave for 
he Mediterranean in all this week. We may not go till Saturday, 
but every officer is compelled to be aboard. I make no doubt you 
have ere this obtained the services of another, and most sincerely 
hope matters have been settled to your satisfaction. May I ask 
what is the difficulty ? Write me by return mail : the letter will 
be in time. 

Most sincerely your friend, 
(Signed) T. PARKIN McBLAIR. 

Not hearing from Purser McBlair as soon as I expected, and 
fearing I should be disappointed in this quarter, I immediately 
sought it in another, as appears from the following note of Mr. 
Goodwin of Baltimore, in reply to one written by me : 

Baltimore, March 20th, 1844, 10 A. M. 
My dear young Friend : 

I have this moment received yours, bearing the post mark of 
yesterday. I most seriously sympathise with you in the truly 
unfortunate position in which you are placed, and would most 
cheerfully repair forthwith to your city, could I see how I could 
in any degree — consistently with my opinions, formed many 
years ago, and confirmed by increased years — serve you on the 
subject to which your letter refers. I have reached that period 
of life when one should, if ever, reflect seriously on every step 
he takes, and how he jostles with the prejudices and vices of the 
age. I can scarcely imagine any state of circumstances that 
would induce me to take the field, either as principal or second. 
" There is a time for all things." Public opinion, to which I bow, 
would condemn me, and my conscience would reproach me. On 
the first, — having nothing left but my good name— I am depen- 



9 

dent whilst I remain on earth ; on the last, I most look when I 
am called to the realms above. 

I know no man in whom I havemore reliance in such matters 
than Gen. W. G. McNeill, who may probably be in your city ; if 
not, he is either at New York or Stonington. Write to him and 
say that it is at my suggestion. 

I omitted to say, in its proper place, that if the circumstances 
of your case admitted of explanation or apology, I would come 
on in the hope of effecting a reconciliation ; but as that is the 
only way in which I could interfere, you will, I am sure, my 
dear James, after what I have said, duly appreciate my motives in 
declining to yield to your solicitations. 

I feel deeply interested in this affair, and beg you will keep 
me apprised of its progress and results. 

Yours most truly, 
(Signed) L. GOODWIN. 

James Schott, Jr., Esq., 

Philadelphia. 

I had from the first — as early I think as the day after my arri- 
val from New York, when I wrote to Purser McBlair — made 
application to my friend, Harrison Grey Otis, Jr., Esq., of Boston, 
for his services in case I should require them, in an affair of honor, 
the cause and nature of which I did not then inform him of. I did 
not think I could so justly claim this aid of him, with whom my 
acquaintance was not of so long standing, as of the two old and 
long tried friends to whom I first formally applied. I now, being 
disappointed in these two quarters, explained the circumstance to 
him, and solicited his assistance ; and he immediately, in the most 
generous manner, acceded to my request. I then applied to my 
friend Dr. George McClellan, desiring to engage his professional 
assistance ; which — after learning the nature of the occasion for 
which it was required — he agreed I should have, but he earnestly 
requested me to accede to the suggestion made by Mr. Goodwin,— 



10 

.namely, to appeal to Gen. McNeill, a gentleman whom both these 
friends regarded, at that time, as possessing great experience in such 
affairs, — for advice and assistance. Such a recommendation made, 
and insisted upon, severally by two such gentleman as Mr. Good- 
win and Dr. McClellan, I could not refuse to receive ; and Mr. 
Otis approving of it, Gen. McNeill was sent for, and he arrived in 
Philadelphia on the night of the 27th. 

The first act of Gen. McNeill was to express, as Dr. McClellan 
had done, an anxious desire to hush up the affair — an affair involv- 
ing my own honor, the reputation of Mrs. S., and the feelings of 
two respectable families ; and these considerations were pressed 
upon me so strongly, that I, at last, expressed my willingness, so 
far as Mrs. S. was concerned, to make any sacrifices that would 
save her from disgrace, and the feelings of friends from laceration. 
But I distinctly declared, that I would listen to no accommoda- 
tion that interfered with the action I meditated with regard to 
Mr. Butler ; and that the farthest I would go in relation to Mrs. 
S., would be to abandon the design of a formal separation, and 
to permit her to live in my house, separated from me in fact, but 
presenting to the world no appearance of separation. I was 
willing to put myself in the hands of my friends, and to be ruled 
by them, to this extent, — but no farther. Gen. McNeill then 
required that I should, with my friend Mr. Otis, proceed into the 
country, to avoid arrest and avert suspicion, and there await his 
orders. I went into the country accordingly. 

It will be observed, that I had thus, in a manner, agreed to Gen. 
McNeill's arranging a nominal reconciliation — a reconciliation 
in appearance merely, — with Mrs. S. But, with that spirit of 
universal philanthropy which generally defeats its own purposes, 
it seems that Gen. McNeill, who assumed to himself a higher 
power than I delegated, and had a plan of his own, had formed 
ideas of a reconciliation in fact, and that not with Mrs. S. only, 
but with Mr. Butler also. And that he might effect this benevo- 
lent purpose, — that he might invite concession in other quarters. 



11 

by making some little concession on my side, — he commenced 
operations by addressing the following letter to Dr. McC, of 
which I only need say, first, that it was written for the purpose 
of being shown to Mrs. S.'s friends ; secondly, that it was written 
whilst I was in the country, where Gen. McN. himself had sent 
me ; thirdly, that it was written entirely without my knowledge, 
and, of course, without my concurrence ; and, fourthly, that the 
moment I heard of it, I protested against it, — or rather against 
those statements in it, in which Gen. McN. made admissions of 
such an unwarrantable character. 

Gen. McNeil's letter was as follows : 

United States Hotel, Philadelphia, 

Saturday, noon, March 30th, 1844. 
Dr. Geo. McClellan, 
Present, 

My Dear Sir : — On Wednesday last, I, in New York, received 
a letter from you written from this place, of date the Saturday 
night 11| o'clock, addressed to me at Stonington, Ct., informing 
me of an interview with Mr. James Schott, who had just called 
on you for your professional services in a contingency that might 
arise — because of impressions, on his part, of a most painful and 
distressing nature. 

The condition which you were pleased to insist on, before you 
would consent to Mr. S.'s request, was that /should be appealed 
to for counsel, and that my decision should be final. It seems 
that Mr. S. had previously written to an honorable " friend" for 
his services on the contemplated field of action, and also to a 
gentleman, (like ourselves of mature years,) the relation of that 
friend ; and that the latter gentleman had also done me the honor 
to name me as, in his opinion, a suitable counsellor. 

I am indebted to you both for the respect thus implied for my 
opinion : — while I need hardly add that my immediate resort to 
this city, on the receipt of your letter, has imposed a responsible 



12 

lity by no means enviable — Yet, in the same spirit in which I at 
once obeyed your summons, (the sincere desire to do good, and 
the firm determination to be impartial and as just as the infirmity 
of my own nature would permit,) I will now, unhesitatingly, as- 
sume the responsibility, however onerous, of expressing thus 
formally my convictions, which are the result of ample, delibe- 
rate, and anxious reflection. 

Those convictions are — that whatever the impressions of the 
respective parties may be, there is no longer any tenable ground 
for Mr. S. to assert his suspicions ; and therefore, that however 
confirmed he may have been, under the influence of an excited 
imagination, he is bound to doubt at least, if not fully to admit, 
that a false medium for the time distorted his usually correct and 
natural vision. — I would by no means have you understand that 
I, for one moment, doubt the sincere convictions under which 
Mr. S. acted. I ascribe his mistake to his proper sensitiveness, 
and that sensitiveness was proportionate to his ardent affection 
for his lady, on a proper return of which his happiness was 
dependent. 

He felt himself aggrieved in the tenderest point: yet was his 
dependence for happiness at home such, that / know he would 
have buried in oblivion every thing but the recollection of the 
endearments of that home — till, unfortunately, in the ebullition of 
a naturally wounded and exasperated feeling on the part of a vir- 
tuous and injured woman, expressions are indulged in (I think 
not proper) which leads him to think her affections are estranged. 
He himself doubted up to that moment, and till then hoped. 
These hopes were destroyed, as 1 have just implied, from unfor- 
tunate and improper expressions — although these expressions 
naturally resulted from the deeply wounded feelings of a wife. 

I do not, therefore, see in these expressions a barrier to 'the 
restoration of domestic harmony which else Mr. S. would have 
sought, as he certainly then desired. 



13 

It then clearly follows, that if such a reconciliation had been 
effected, there would therein have been a tacit, if not express ad- 
mission, of the innocence of all parties, and the equal injustice to 
all parties (including himself) of further indulgence in unworthy 
suspicions. 

Nothing since, at all admissible, has transpired to place the 
parties (Mr. S. and Mr. B.) in a different position from that they 
would have occupied in the event of what is most desirableand 
due to the happiness of so large a circle — to wit, the reconciliation 
alluded to. I think, therefore, that Mr. B. has no account to 
render to Mr. S. — except in the grateful recollection of many, 
many evidences of sincere and ardent friendship and regard. 

It is proper, I think, that I should remind you of the volun- 
tarily proffered asseveration of Mr. B. to Mr. S., on the oath of 
a Christian and the honor of a gentleman, of the total and ut- 
ter injustice to all parties, in the surmises of Mr. S. of impropri- 
ety ; and that this occurred anterior to the period when — but for 
the circumstance to which I have alluded — the " restoration of 
harmony" might readily have been effected, as most certainly 
it was desirable. 

It is equally proper and incumbent on me to add, (if I may 
take that liberty,) that Mr. Schott's course throughout the whole 
of this painful matter, has been under his impressions, and is be- 
yond reproach. 

Were it my privilege to advise, (as would be that of a relation, 
a brother,) my efforts would be unceasing till I had succeeded in 
restoring domestic peace, in the hope of renewed and continued 
happiness in Mr. Schott's own home. — He has given us both 
much reason, abundant reason to respect and honor him. 

But while we sympathise deeply with any one, whether under 
a delusion or not — it is not my province on this occasion, nor 
will I consent through any instrumentality of mine, to indulge 
the excited feelings of another in the perpetration of an act which 



14 

is not justified by facts, and which, on the calmest deliberation, 
my judgment condemns. 

Much thinking and future talking, my friend, I doubt not I 
could have saved myself, by recommending a summary process, 
which the kind, the sympathising, the disinterested world 
would have been quite gratified in discussing for " nine days j" 
and much discussion, for about that period, probably would be 
spared in relation to my decision. 

But I have given my opinion : / assume the responsibility : 
I am answerable, and cheerfully will be, to whomever may dis- 
pute the question to the prejudice of either of the really interested 
parties. 

I am, dear sir, very respectfully, 

Your friend and obedient servant, 
(Signed) WM. GIBBS McNEILL. 

The protest which I addressed to Dr. McC, upon receiving a 
copy of this remarkable letter, was the following : 

Mount Ephraim, April 2, 1844. 
My Dear Sir : — I have hastily perused the letter of Gen. Mc 
Neill, dated March 30, which you have this moment put into my 
hands. As this matter has been submitted to you and Gen. Mc. 
Neill and Mr. Otis, I feel bound to abide by your decision, but 
there are some statements in Gen. McNeill's letter which are 
inaccurate and which I must protest against. In any agreement 
which I consented to make with Mrs. S. before the receipt of the 
intercepted letter, it was solely with the view of saving her repu- 
tation and character ; and I then told her that should she confess 
what I saw with my own eyes, and shew some penitence for her 
misconduct, that I would permit her to live in my house, but 
henceforth and for ever in separate apartments. This was the 
" harmony" and the " home" I sought, nor can I admit now, nor 
did I then, that my " suspicions were unworthy" and " ground- 



15 

less." I am satisfied Gen. McNeill and yourself will do me the 
justice to correct the exceptionable part of the letter referred to. 
With sentiments, &c, 

1 remain sincerely your friend, 
(Signed) JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 

Dr. George McClellan. 

Gen. Mc. Neill's letter, I have stated, was written with the 
direct view of being shewn to Mrs. S/s friends; and however 
desirous the writer may have been to render it useful to me, it 
seems he was equally anxious to make it acceptable to them. 
The following note in my possession, from Mr. Butler to Gen. Mc 
Neill, proves, in fact, that it was written and submitted to their 
inspection, and to Mr. Butler's inspection too, before it ever 
reached Dr. McC, or was exhibited to Mr. Otis and myself: 

Dear McNeill : 

Your letter was read last night and much approved of. I send 
it to you with a copy carefully made of it. Pray let it go as 
soon as possible, and do see Mr. S. this morning, and talk to him 
as nobody but yourself can talk. A settlement of this matter will 
relieve much anxiety. 

Yours ever sincerely, 
(Signed) P. B. 

Tuesday, <April 2, 
P. S. There is no d at the end of McClellan. 

It is somewhat singular that this letter should have been sub- 
mitted to the judgment of a man standing in the attitude in 
which Mr. B. stood to me, and by a gentleman occupying the 
position in regard to me which Gen. McN. occupied. 

My "protest" was sent to Gen. McNeill by Dr. McC. with 
the following note : 



16 

Mount Ephraim,^New Jersey, 
7 o'clock, Tuesday, P. M., April 2. 
To General McNeill, 

My Dear Sir: — I handed your communication to Mr. Schott 
this afternoon, at Mount Ephraim, and he entered his immediate 
protest against some of the material points of your statement as 
being inaccurate. I now enclose his letter to you for your con- 
sideration. 

Yours very truly, 
(Signed) GEO. McCLELLAN. 

To this Gen. McN. the next day, sent the following reply : 

United States Hotel, Philadelphia, 
Wednesday, 9 A. M., April 3, 1844. 
Dr. George McClellan, 
Present, 
Dear Sir : — I have received duly, and have read most atten- 
tively, Mr. Schott's " protest," submitted through your letter of 
last evening. I deeply regret the misapprehension under which 
I am bound to believe I unfortunately labored : for the whole of 
my efforts, in the adoption of that misapprehension, prove to have 
been abortive, and all my conclusions, ivhich were, in my own 
mind, so completely exculpatory , fall to the ground ; and I 
am no longer to be quoted as authority. 

I am, most respectfully, your friend and obedient servant, 
(Signed) WM. GIBBS McNElLL. 

There was, indeed, occasion " deeply to regret" the misappre- 
hension under which Gen. McN. had labored — or professed to 
labor — when he wrote his letter of the 30th. It was written for 
the purpose of effecting a reconciliation ; and it was so superflu- 
ously well adapted to the purpose, that it entirely defeated it. It 
was to effect not merely a universal pacification, but a complete 
restoration of character to all parties, — the basis of the treaty 



17 

being a recognition of the perfect innocence of all the persons 
concerned. With such a captivating object in view, it is not, 
perhaps, wonderful that Gen. McN. should invite negociations, 
by assuring the opposite party of his " convictions" that there 
was " no longer any tenable ground for Mr. S. to assert his suspi- 
cions" — that he was " bound to doubt, at least, if not fully to ad- 
mit, that a false medium for the time distorted his usually correct 
and natural vision" — that u Mr. B. had no account to render to 
Mr. S., except in the grateful recollection of many evidences of 
sincere and ardent friendship and regard,"' &c. &c. Nor is it, 
perhaps, anymore wonderful that the opposite parties should im- 
mediately take advantage of these extraordinary admissions, vol- 
unteered by a gentleman appearing in the character of my official 
friend and representative — admissions that seemed to place me 
in the position of conceding the innocence of Mrs. S. and Mr. B., 
and of admitting that I had injured them by " groundless suspi- 
cions." All these admissions were made by Gen. McN. — doubt- 
less in the full expectation that the opposite parties would make 
the same acknowledgments of my innocence which he, in the- 
authoritative language of my representative, had made of theirs, 
and that a perfect reconciliation would immediately be effected. 
This expectation was encouraged by them in every particular, un- 
til they were allowed to take, a copy of General McNtilVs let- 
ter ; and then the whole state of affairs was changed as by a 
stroke of magic. Every thing was apparently settled, for every 
thing had been agreed upon by the negociators; in regard to the 
reconciliation which Gen. McN. had, and they, up to that mo- 
ment, professed to have so much at heart ; and, in pursuance of 
arrangements made with them, Gen. McN. himself, accompanied 
by Dr. McC. came into the country to report proceedings, and 
carry me back to the city. It was on this occasion, on the after- 
noon of the 2d April, that I was first made acquainted with Gen. 
McN.'s letter of the 30th, — four days after it had been written and 
exhibited to Mr. B. and Mrs. S.'s friends, and they permitted to 
3 



18 

take a copy of it, — against which I immediately wrote my pro- 
test. Although provoked at the course adopted by Gen. McN., 
I then believed that his motives were good and friendly. I went 
back to the city very unwillingly, and returned to my house as 
reluctantly, and that, not to see or be reconciled to Mrs. S., but 
to receive Gen. McN. there, as he requested. With regard to 
Mr. Butler, all that I agreed, or ever thought of agreeing to, was 
— not to give up my right to fight him, — but, for Mrs. S.'s sake, 
to conceal the cause of quarrel, by substituting another — to take 
an opportunity to insult him, and thus bring on a quarrel in which 
/ would have appeared as the aggressor. To this course I was 
impelled by the advice, the remonstrances, the entreaties of these 
friends, — the representations they made of the effect which direct 
proceedings must have upon the feelings of my relatives and 
those of Mrs. S., and upon her reputation. 

In such a spirit as I have described, I suffered Gen. McN. to 
persuade me to go with him to my house ; where — whatever my 
feelings and anticipations may have been — he expected, according 
to his treaty with the other parties, to find Mrs. S. ready to be 
reconciled to me. We arrived a little after 11 o'clock in the 
evening, and found the house empty. Less than one hour before, 
Mrs. S. had removed, with all her effects, and gone to the house 
of her father, Mr. Richard Willing. Gen. McN. then dis- 
covered, that he had been treated with duplicity and treachery — 
that he had been entrapped into admissions in regard to Mrs. S. 
which destroyed — or appeared to destroy — the force of my 
charges against her ; and which placed — or seemed to place — her 
in the position of the innocent, and me in that of the guilty party. 
And from that moment, in fact, a hue and cry was raised against 
me, as having basely devised a plot to ruin the reputation of my 
innocent wife — but for what purpose no one, I believe, has yet 
discovered. 

It was then that Gen. McN. wrote his second letter to Dr. 
McC, in which he revoked the admissions, and manifestly 



19 

declared that he had made them solely for the purpose, which had 
proved "abortive," of effecting a reconciliation, — and protested 
that he was " no longer to be quoted as authority" in relation to 
them. 

Nor was Mrs. S.'s leaving my house the only proof of the 
change in our respective positions wrought by Gen. McNeill's 
letter of March 30th, or of the determination of her friends to 
improve the advantage they had gained, and to take every step, 
however violent, which might enlist opinions, public and private 
against me, as a villain who had brought base charges against a 
wife, whose innocence appeared from the admissions made in the 
letter of my authorised friend, Gen. McNeill. Gen. McN.'s letter 
of revocation was written on the 3d of April. Upon the very 
next day, the 4th, Mrs. S. went before the Mayor of Philadelphia, 
and by the following affidavit, accusing me of acts of jealousy 
and outrage, first gave publicity to an affair which, even for her 
own sake, I had sought to conceal, and arrainged me before the 
bar of the public as a jealous, brutal husband, from whom she was 
obliged to appeal to the laws to protect her life. 

Commonwealth, 

vs. 
James Schott, Jr. 

Ellen Willing Schott, being duly sworn says — I was married to 
James Schott, Jr., in the month of October, 1S39. From that 
time till the spring of 1840, we resided in New York. After- 
wards, till the autumn of the year 1841, we lived together in my 
father's family, except during part of the summer of 1841, during 
which we were at lodgings at Germantown, and afterwards made 
an excursion to the Falls of Niagara. The first occasion on 
which Mr. Schott used towards me personal violence was in the 
summer of 1841, either at the end of the month of June or the 
beginning of July, at Germantown, where we were staying for 
the benefit of my child's health, who had been ill for a long 
time, and whose life I was then beginning to despair of. I was 



20 

in the habit of having the baby brought during the day into my 
own chamber, it being larger and more airy ?n apartment than 
the one in which the infant and nurse slept. Upon this occasion 
I wished Mr. Schott to rise that the room might be made ready 
to receive the visit of Dr. Betton. Upon my urging him to do 
so, he became violent, and drawing from under his bolster a 
loaded pocket pistol, which he always had under his pillow at 
night, he presented it at my breast and threatened to shoot me if 
I teased him any longer. The baby died on the 15th July. 

We went to housekeeping in the autumn of 1S41. From that 
time he has been in the habit of frequenting the Clubs. His 
usual custom was to remain till about two o'clock in the morning, 
very frequently he did so till daylight ; and on some occasions he 
has not returned till late on the following day. This mode of 
life had the worst possible effect upon his temper. He was most 
violent and abusive in his language to me, swearing at me for the 
most trivial causes. He was so unjust and unreasonable as to 
cause me much uneasiness. During all this time until May 1843, 
it was my habit to watch for him at night till his return, being 
always anxious while he was absent, and thinking if any thing 
would induce him to reform his hours, it would be witnessing the 
great uneasiness they caused me. One night when he returned 
home near daylight, on my remonstrating with him on the late- 
ness of the hour and pleading with him to change his habits, he a 
second time, presented a pistol and threatened to fire at me. This 
took place in my bed chamber. 

Last summer we went to Brighton: I there accidentally made 
the acquaintance of a gentleman. I had only conversed with him 
three times, and then always in company with another lady, when 
one night I was suddenly awakened from my sleep at 3 o'clock 
by Mr. Schott, who was standing over me with a light in his 
hand. He insulted me then in the grossest manner, insisting that 
the gentleman to whom I have alluded had been in my chamber, 
using the coarsest language and threatening to put me to death. 



2\ 

So much was I shocked by this outrage that I shrunk from re- 
ferring to it on the succeeding day. Mr. Schott was equally si- 
lent in regard to it, and it was not until six weeks after our re- 
turn to Philadelphia that he alluded to it — asking me — ■*' What 
do you think of my jealous fit at New Brighton." He then said, 
that at the time he had been near putting me to death. 

Mr. Schott made a gentleman's acquaintance, in November 
last, at a public dinner. He then invited this gentleman to dine 
at his house, and from that time courted his intimacy in every 
way, and he became a constant visiter at our house, on the 
strength of Mr. Schott's frequent invitations. During the course 
of the winter, this gentleman generally dined two or three times 
a week at our table, and their intercourse was almost daily, — for 
if this gentleman did not call on Mr. S., Mr. Schott either wrote 
for him to come, or went to visit him at his rooms. Mr. Schott 
this winter had constant dinner parties — the hours kept were 
very late, his friends very generally not leaving his table till one 
and two o'clock in the morning. If we went to the theatre or a 
concert, it was always Mr. Schott's habit to invite home with 
him the gentlemen he might happen to meet, and it was his cus- 
tom to remain with them in the dining room till late — until long 
after I had retired. It was, I think, the beginning of February, 
that Mr. Schott was confined to his room by illness. The gen- 
tleman to whom I have referred, called one evening to see Mr. 
Schott on business. When he descended from Mr. Schott's 
room, he entered the parlour to make me a visit. It must at 
that time have been eleven o'clock, although I was not then 
aware of the hour. We remained till a quarter before one 
o'clock. This was the only occasion on which this gentleman 
remained with me till so late an hour, excepting on one other, 
when Mr. Schott and another gentleman were of the party. On 
my going up stairs, I found Mr. Schott violently excited — he was 
exceedingly angry at this gentleman's having remained so late — 
he came into my dressing room and seized me by the throat, and 



22 

almost strangled me. He afterwards, while I was in bed, at- 
tempted twice to choke me. The last time the pain from the 
pressure was so excessive, that though I had refrained from 
screaming before, lest the servants might hear the noise, I could 
do so no longer. On my screaming loudly, Mr. Schott desisted. 
I immediately rose from the bed, and said I would no longer re- 
main in the room, that my life was not safe with him. He said, 
" You had better go, for I promise you if you remain here you 
will not be alive in the morning." I went to my dressing room 
and laid on the sofa during the rest of the night, securing the 
doors, as I felt myself to be in danger. On the night of Wed- 
nesday, 6th of March, in New York, Mr. Schott threatened to put 
me to death ; and on Tuesday night, 12th of March, in Philadel- 
phia, held a six-barrelled pistol at me, and again said he would 
put me to death. It was on that night that he said, " I will sepa- 
rate from you now ; for if I do not now, you will separate from 
me at some future time, and then you will cru^h me." On the 
same night he drew my wedding ring from my finger by force 
and violence, and took it away from me s declaring that he consi- 
dered our marriage dissolved. The first intimation given to my 
family of my domestic misery, was in the spring of 1843, by my 
maid, who went to see Dr. Peace, without my knowledge, and 
told him of the state of suffering in which I then was, — saying 
that if something were not done, she feared my mind would be 
affected. Dr. Peace insisted on knowing from me the cause, 
and I then, for the first time, spoke of my unhappiness. 

One instance of violent temper it may be well for me to men- 
tion. We were going to the theatre, last October, — Mr. Schott 
was after the time, and became impatient at my hurrying him — 
he was exceedingly angry while we were walking — swore he 
would put me in the gutter, and used such gross and improper 
language, that I refused to accompany him further, and returned 
home. These exhibitions of temper were occurring frequently — 
often daily. All of the abovementioned incidents that took place 



23 

subsequently to last October, were made known at the time to 
my sisters, Mrs. Ridgway and Mrs. Peace. In October I seri- 
ously thought of separating from him, and consulted Dr. Peace 
to that effect. I was most anxious to do so, but was dissuaded 
by my sisters and Dr. Peace from taking this step. 

On the night of Tuesday, 2nd of April, my father came to 
Mr. Schott's house, and offered me an asylum in his own, and 
I am now living in his family and under his protection. I have 
reason to apprehend, and do apprehend, that Mr. Schott may 
offer me personal violence, if an opportunity for doing so should 
occur. There is no cause that I am aware of, for the course of 
conduct which Mr. Schott has pursued towards me, but his irrita- 
ble and bad temper. There never was the slightest grounds for 
any of the accusations which he has made against me, or for any 
of the suspicions which he has professed to entertain. 

ELLEN WILLING SCHOTT. 
Sworn and subscribed before me 
this 4th day of April, 1844. 

J. M. SCOTT, Mayor. 

Mayor's Office, 
City of Philadelphia, April 17, 1844. 
I certify that the foregoing affidavit is a true copy of the origi- 
nal now on file in this office. 

JOHN B. KENNE Y, Clerk of Police. 

I have no inclination to comment upon this unfortunate paper 
further than, it will be found, I have commented upon it in the 
letter to Mr. Kuhn, subsequently annexed — upon the objects of 
those who contrived or recommended such a step to be taken — 
or upon the charges made in it against me. But I cannot but 
recommend attention to two circumstances — first, the fact that, 
having returned from New York on the 11th of March, Mrs. S. 
had continued voluntarily to reside in my house with me (for I 
was in it whenever I chose to be) from that period up to the 2nd 



24 

of April — (a period of three, iveeks,) although she testifies to one 
act of outrage, alleged to have been committed by me on the 
12th of March, and swears that she apprehended further violence, 
and knew that on the 16th of March I had applied to Mr. Dallas 
for articles of separation — in truth, up to the period when the 
facts of the case were creeping out ; and, secondly, to the admis- 
sion made by her, in the fourth paragraph of the affidavit, of her 
having, at a period when I was, from her own shewing, " confined 
to my room by illness," received a visit in the parlor from Mr. 
Butler who had just departed from my sick bed, at 11 o'clock at 
night, and remained with her alone " till a quarter before one 
o'clock in the morning" — a midnight visit of nearly two hours 
(according to her own confession) permitted by a wife, w T hose 
proper post would have been by the bedside of her sick husband. 
This was one of those " imprudences" which I alluded to as 
having happened, and as having caused remonstrance, but as hav- 
ing been ultimately forgiven and forgotten. In point of fact, as 
I will here state, that visit lasted from 10 o'clock until half- 
past one. 

These steps taken by Mrs. S., left me no alternative but to 
pursue my original determination ; and as the charges made 
against me in the affidavit exposed me to immediate arrest, (and 
to be arrested at such a moment would, I well knew, afford an 
additional ground for the calumnies which were now unsparingly 
heaped upon me,) — notwithstanding Gen* McNeill's advising 
me to surrender myself to the civil authorities, to be bound over to 
keep the peace; this gentleman having, at that time, assumed the po- 
sition of being " technically" my friend — I, the next morning, at 3 
o'clock, (Friday, April 5th) left the city ; and that very evening de- 
spatched a friend with a letter to Gen. McN. covering a challenge, 
which I requested him immediately to deliver to Mr. B. I must 
here explain, that Gen. McN., although summoned by me as an ad- 
viser on the field, rather than as a " friend" (speaking techni- 
cally,) had declared himself willing, if it should be necessary, to 



25 

act for me in that capacity ; and Mr. Otis, upon the score of Gen. 
McN.'s greater age and experience, had expressed a wish that 
Gen. Mc. N. should act in his place. It was for this reason that 
I sent the message to Gen. McN. It was presented to him at 2 
o'clock, A. M. Saturday morning. He refused to deliver it, as I 
desired him ; and that morning left Philadelphia for New York, — 
leaving me, after all his generous efforts in my behalf, in a much 
more unhappy position than that in which he had found me ; and 
leaving me, too, to get out of it as I could, without expecting 
any further assistance from his experience or his philanthropy.* 

* I feel all the gratitude which any one will say I ought to feel to Gen. 
McNeill for the services he rendered me in this business. But I cannot 
help remarking upon the very eccentric manner in which he rendered them. 
The note from Mr. Butler already given, proves that Gen. McNeill had 
taken him into counsel, while acting as my adviser ; and I have ample proof, 
in fact, that during the time he was acting for me in that capacity, and pro- 
fessing, before others, to Mr. Butler, that he was my friend, "technically," 
he was at least once closeted with Mr. Butler, under lock and key. After 
coming home with me from the country, and finding that Mrs. S. was gone, 
and his plans of reconciliation were destroyed, he was excessively enraged, 
and threatened to challenge Mr. Binney, the legal counsel of Mrs. S.'s 
friends, as the supposed cause of the defeat of his arrangement. In the 
midst of this rage, he made a midnight visit, too, to Mr. Butler, (it was 
the night of our return from the country,) whom he fiercely berated as a 
confederate in the conspiracy by which he had been entrapped, and de- 
clared himself henceforth "technically my friend." His wrath, however, 
soon subsided. He is now Mr. Butler's very active and zealous friend : 
which will appear plainly enough from the following correspondence : 

Eutaw House, Baltimore, 

April, 28, 1844. 
Sir: — I came to this city yesterday, in consequence of a letter which I 
received from Mr. Samuel W. Smith in the morning, at New Castle, con- 
veying to me information of a statement made by you to him, which I 
cannot but consider, to say the least of it, extraordinary, more especially 
after referring to that part of your letter to Dr. McClellan of the 23d inst., 
in which you say, " These views are, that good taste, refinement, every 
4 



26 

As soon as I was informed of Gen. NcN.'s refusal to deliver 
the message, I placed the affair again in the hands of Mr. Otis, 

principle of propriety, dictate silence in reference to past events." You 
stated to Mr. Smith that you "professed the kindest feelings for rne, but 
did not believe in the guilt of others," — that "after a thorough investiga- 
tion, you are satisfied that I have no just cause of complaint against P. 
B.," — that "you so informed me," and that you did not leave me until I ad^ 
mitted you were right, — that "J seemed satisfied my first impressions were, 
incorrect." 

Now, sir, I have to inform you, first, that, although I have acted with 
great delicay towards you, I have felt that I had cause to complain of the 
way in which you, while professing to be my friend, and acting as I sup- 
posed in that character, injured me by unwarrantable admissions which you 
were not authorised to make, and which you afterwards, upon my protest- 
ing against them, revolted ; and, secondly, that I have indulged this delicacy 
towards you, because, with all my dissatisfaction, I believed you were act- 
ing with good and friendly intentions, and that I had no right to regard 
your conduct in any other light than as being highly imprudent. But the 
stand you have now taken, as appears to be indicated in the above state- 
ment, releases me from all further obligations of delicacy ; and I now tell 
you, sir, distinctly, that I never informed you that I was satisfied I had no 
just cause of complaint against Pierce Butler ; that I never admitted you 
were right : that I never was, or seemed satisfied that my first impressions 
were incorrect. In closing this communication, I cannot but regret, that 
the course you have pursued, has made it imperative on me to address you 
in the manner I have done. Considering the relation in which you stood 
towards me, I, surely, had a right to expect that you would have abstained 
from all remarks reflecting injuriously upon my conduct and character, 
subsequent to your departure from Philadelphia. 
I am, sir, respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 
Gen. W. Gibbs McNeill, Stonington. 

Stonington, Ct., Friday Night. 

May 3d, 1844. 
Mr. James Schott, 

Eutaw House, Baltimore : 

But just returned home — I have only this evening received your letter 

of the 28th ult. 



21 

by whom it was immediately attended to. The message was de 
livered on the evening of the 7th, and immediately accepted. 

The following is the substance of my challenge to Mr. Butler, — 
the original copy of which has been mislaid : 

Sir, # Jlpril 6,1844. 

Referring to my note under date of March the 11th, at the 
Astor House, I have now to inform you, that the time has arrived 
when I can, without compromising others, call upon you for the 
satisfaction which my deep injuries require. My friend, Gen. 
McNeill, % will hand you this, and will make the necessary 
arrangements. 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 

Pierce Butler, Esq. 



> 



Sir : — I accept your challenge. In order that you may fully 
Understand the views which I entertain while acceding to your 

I am quite sorry to be assured, from its tenor, of a predisposition to re- 
gard me other than as I know myself to have been — in word and deed— 
your friend. 

As it regards all you have heard and apparently believe, it will suffice to 
say, I ask no extenuation, even from want of judgment, or any other cause 
— for what I have said or done.- 

It would seem — as I rejoice to find — you have abundant friends ; judging, 
as I do, from the correspondence of some of them with me ; and as it also 
seems your preference has been to exclude me, of late, as one of them — I 
beg it will be understood, that I am, by preference on my part, so far re- 
conciled, that I wish not to be remembered till again you shall feel in such 
extremity as to ask the services of still 

Your friend and obedient servant, 

WM. GIBBS McNEILL. 

X On Gen. McNeill's refusal to deliver this message, Mr. Otis' name was 
substituted. 



2H 

request, I send you the enclosed. § You will perceive from its 
date, that it was written immediately after my return from New 
York, but I was deterred from sending it in consequence of a 
belief that your mind must have undergone a change in respect 
to the unworthy and unjust suspicions which you entertained 
against me ; which belief was founded on the fact, that for two 
days after you had made a charge of so grave a character against 
me, you not only continued to occupy the same parlor and to 
take your meals at the same table with me, but allowed your wife 
to do the same. 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

PIERCE BUTLER. 
James Schott, Jr. Esq. *Mpril&th, 1844. 

Eutaw House, Jipril 11/A, '44. 
My Dear Sir, 

I feel it due to you and to myself, to explain to you the con- 
cluding paragraph of Mr. Butler's acceptance of my challenge. 
Mrs. Ridgway's prayers, entreaties, and tears, alone influenced 
me in suffering Mr. B. to remain in my parlor at the Astor 
House, after the discovery of his base and villainous conduct, — 
and although this promise was made by me most reluctantly, yet 
having made it, when influenced by her tears and distress, I felt 
bound to keep it. She begged me, as being under my protection, 
not to expose them in New York, in a public hotel, and that this 
would most assuredly be the case, should Mr. B. be dismissed 
from the party. I was weak enough to yield to her solicitations, 
but, as you well know from the letter addressed to him on the 

§ This extraordinary letter I handed to Mr. Otis, to be returned to Mr. 
Butler, being unwilling to receive any communication from him other than 
the acceptance of my challenge. I have since understood, from gentlemen 
to whom this letter was exhibited by Gen. McNeill, that it was dated the 
15th of March, and is the letter referred to by Mrs. S. in her letter to Mrs. 
Ridgway on the following day, March 16, and which I intercepted. 



29 

morning of my departure from the Astor House, and from 
my subsequent application to you to act as my friend, the day after 
my arrival in Philadelphia, that I have never wavered in my de- 
termination to punish this insidious libertine, but that I have been 
prevented and delayed by causes over which I had no control, — 
and that this is a base trick of his, worthy of his consummate art 
and cunning, to place me in a false position before my friends and 
the world. I told Mr. B. distinctly, the Sunday before we left, 
that nothing but my promise to Mrs. Ridgway protected him from 
my just indignation while in New York. 

Your friend, 
(Signed) JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 

Harrison Gray Otis, Jr. Esq. 

Mr. Otis was referred to Mr. Alston, Mr. B.'s friend, who 
was empowered to arrange with Mr. 0. all the necessary prelimi- 
naries. These gentlemen met on Sunday, the 7th ; on which 
occasion Mr. Otis was informed by Mr. Alston, that Mr. B. se- 
lected pistols as the weapons. At the same time, Mr. Alston 
declined making any further arrangements as to the manner in 
which the duel should be fought, or as to the time and place \ but 
he appointed a second meeting with Mr. Otis, to take place at 
Washington, on Saturday, the 13th; at which meeting all the 
preliminaries were to be completed, and the articles drawn up 
and signed. 

When I sent Mr. Otis with the message, on the 6th of April, I 
had reason to believe that Mr. B. would appoint the earliest pos- 
sible period for the meeting ; for I had been told he had expressed 
a desire to settle the affair immediately, and an intention, upon 
receipt of a message from me, to meet me the following morning, 
at six paces. I have ample proof of this ; which I am ready to 
produce, whenever he shall dare to deny it. I firmly believed 
he would appoint the meeting for Monday, the 8th ; and it was 
in this belief that, upon Sunday the 7th, having not then heard ? 



30 

nor, indeed, expecting to bear, from Mr. Otis until late that night, 
or early the next morning, I wrote and transmitted to my friend 
Hartman Kuhn, Jr. Esq., the following letter, containing the 
comments on Mrs. S.'s affidavit previously referred to : 

New Castle, Delaware, 
April 1th, 1844, Sunday morning. 

My Dear Hartman : On the eve of a most solemn occasion, 
with the possibility of my being soon ushered into the presence 
of my Maker, I have thought it proper to make the following 
statement, which I leave in your hands as my friend, to vindicate 
my character and honor. Feeling as I do, the awful responsibi- 
lity, I shall write the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth, so help me God. 

An affidavit has been filed against me in the Mayor's Court, 
by my wife, stating that I presented a loaded pistol to her breast, 
and threatened her life. This I solemnly deny, and can only 
account for such a course on the part of my wife, from the fact 
that I had, several weeks before, applied to counsel to obtain a 
separation from her; and articles of separation had been drawn 
up by him, which were not executed, in consequence of the delay 
of my friends in arranging an affair of honor connected with this 
separation. Suffice it for me to say, that this wife, who has 
sworn her life against me, continued for several weeks after the 
alleged violence, to live, at her own choice, in my house, — to 
which I came whenever I desired ; and the day after having made 
the affidavit, at 11 o'clock in the morning, she was perfectly will- 
ing to return to it. The just ground I had for a separation 
from her, I shall not reveal here, but am sure, that time, con- 
science, and remorse, ivill inflict misery enough upon her, 
without my adding to it. By the great delay in getting one or 
other of my friends to Philadelphia, and their continued and pro- 
tracted consultations, 1 have been prevented from calling to ac- 
count the villain who has brought all this misery upon me, — I 



31 

mean Pierce Butler. As soon as it was possible — as I can prove 
by documents in the hands of my friend Mr. Otis, I have done 
so; and if I have suffered in the estimation of my friends from 
this delay, those friends who have had the responsibility of this 
affair, are accountable, and not myself. I refer particularly to 
the course pursued by Gen. McNeill. 

I have also here solemnly to state, that I intercepted a letter 
from Mrs. Schott, addressed to Mrs. Ridgway, her sister, dated 
16th March, 1844, the concluding paragraph of which I hereby 
give you. Extract: — " Perhaps it would be better for Mr. B. 
[meaning Mr. Butler] to send the letter to-night, but I do not 
advise, you can best judge ; — he [meaning myself] appears calm 
and resolved, — he is not violent. I only hope it may be suicide 
he has determined on, but I think a duel will be the consequence. 5 ' 
It was on the evening that I intercepted this letter, that I applied 
to Geo. M. Dallas, Esq., as my counsel to draw up the articles of 
separation. I also do most solemnly say, that the other 
charges made against me in the affidavit, (at least those that I 
have heard,) by this unhappy and desperate woman, are greatly 
exaggerated or entirely false ; and that if I am to meet my God 
ere long, it will be with the consciousness of having been a kind, 
affectionate, and indulgent husband to her. And all this I again, 
and perhaps for the last time, solemnly aver to be true, on the 
word of a man, who may never again be able to assert his inno- 
eence, and his wrongs, and whose tongue and hand may soon be 
stilled by death. 

(Signed) JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 

Hartman Ktjhn, Jr., Esq. 

Upon learning the next day, at Wilmington, that the challenge 
had been accepted, and that the preliminaries were to be settled 
at Washington, on the Saturday following, I proceeded to Balti- 
more, and thence to Washington ; where, on the 14th, at mid- 
night, a few hours before the duel was fought ; and in view of all 



52 

its possibly fatal consequence to myself, I wrote another letter to 
Mr. Kuhn, reaffirming the truth of all the statements made in my 
letter of the 7th. 

Washington, Sunday Evening, 

April, Uth, 1844. 
My Dear Hartman : — At last I have brought Mr. Butler to 
a meeting, and I expect to go out to-morrow morning at 5, in the 
district. The terms which his friend has proposed to me, and 
insisted upon, are unusual, and such as my friends would not have 
permitted me to accept, were the quarrel an ordinary one. This 
matter will be fully explained to you by Mr. Otis ; but I believe 
there is justice on High, and that the villain will be punished for 
invading my peace and honor. 

Let me repeat to you here, my dear Hartman, and perhaps for 
the last time, solemnly reiterate the truth and the whole truth of 
the statement made you this day week at New Castle ; and en- 
treat you, should I fall, to do me justice. I ask nothing more 
than that a plain and unvarnished tale of my wrongs and suffer- 
ings should be placed before my friends and the world. 

I must now try to get a little repose, as I leave here at 3 in the 
morning. 

God bless you my dear friend. 

Yours until death, 
(Signed) SCHOTT. 

Hartman Kuhn, Jr., Esq. 

The day before this letter was written, — that is, on Saturday 
the 13th, Mr. Otis and Mr. Alston had their second meeting, and 
after getting over certain difficulties which will be found described 
in Mr. Otis' published statement, agreed upon the articles, as set 
forth in the same statement. 



S3 

Mr. OTIS' STATEMENT. 

In the affair of honor which took place at Bladensburg between 
James Schott, Jr., and Pierce Butler, on Monday, the 15th inst, 
the second, friend, and surgeon of the former gentleman assumed 
the responsibility of withdrawing him from the contest after the 
second fire, on account of a physical disability, which rendered 
the terms insisted on by the opposite parties, in the judgment of 
Mr. Schott's friends, unequal. I therefore deem it due to my 
principal and myself to state that this course was pursued contrary 
to his express wishes, and to give an authentic account of the oc- 
currences on the field. 

And first, it is deemed proper to premise, that the meeting was 
deferred by the challenged party, for eight days after the message 
passed, and until Saturday evening, 13th inst. none of the pre- 
liminaries were made known, except the weapons to be used ; and 
as the terms proposed were unusual, our principal labored under 
the disadvantage of being kept in the dark, as to the mode of 
fight, while the other party not only had the superiority of being 
acquainted with those terms, but could employ the interim for 
preparation and practice. 

The Preliminaries were these : — 

1. The principals are to stand back to back, at the distance of 
ten paces from one another. 

2. The pistols to be loaded with powder and one ball by the 
seconds in presence of the friends of their principals. 

3. When the principals have taken their respective positions, 
the seconds shall then hand their pistols to them and shall forth- 
with proceed to take their places. 

4. The seconds giving the word shall then ask the principals, 
" Gentlemen, are you ready?" The principals shall then hold 
their pistols muzzles down, and when ready each shall answer 
" ready." Then, and not till then, shall the second who gives the 
word say, " Fire, one, two, three, stop." 



34 

5. The parties are not to wheel until the word fire has been 
given. 

6. Either principal firing before the word " fire" or after the 
word "stop" shall instantly be shot down by the second of his 
adversary. 

7. After both parties have answered " ready" there shall be a 
considerable pause before the word fire is given, to prevent the 
parties firing before the time. 

8. The second giving the word shall, before the parties take 
their respective places, fully explain the manner and time in 
which he intends to give the word. 

(Signed) JOSEPH ALSTON, 

HARRISON GRAY OTIS, Jr. 
14th April, 1844. 

Struck with surprise at the uncommon mode of warfare pro- 
posed in art. 1, the abstract question with regard to the pro- 
priety of wheeling, in duelling, without rejerence to case or 
parties, was submitted to four gentlemen of the highest character 
then present in Washington, whose opinion would be decisive in 
any court of honor. Unanimously and without hesitation they 
pronounced it unusual, and that any second would be justifiable in 
withdrawing, at once his principal, if such an arrangement were 
persisted in. But our objections were more strenuous in the case 
in point, because this method was rendered more unjustifiable and 
unequal, by an unfortunate physical disability in our principal. 
The following letter upon the subject was addressed, on the 14th 
inst., by Dr. McClellan to Mr. Otis. 

Dr. McClellan' s letter to Mr. Otis. 

To H. G. Otis, Jr., Esq. — My Dear Sir: — The swelling and 

inflammation in Mr. Schott's right foot is decidedly worse this 

morning. It is situated deeply in the anterior and central portion 

of the sole of the foot, and is so tender and painful that it will 



35 

incommode him even in a standing position, and prove quite pain- 
ful in attempting to wheel or walk. 

Yours very truly, 
(Signed) GEO. McCLELLAN. 

Sunday morning, April 14, 1844. 

Mr. Otis at once enclosed the above in the following to Mr. 
Alston, considering that a mere statement of the facts would be 
sufficient to procure an arrangement that would place both parties 
upon an equality. 

Mr. Otis 9 letter to Mr. Alston , enclosing Dr. McClellan's 

certificate. 
Joseph Alston, Esq. — My Dear Sir : — I send you the en- 
closed certificate from Dr. McClellan, and submit it to your con- 
sideration. You will readily perceive that it refers to article first, 
and that from the statements in his letter, it will be impossible 
for Mr. Schott to wheel with any advantage. 

(Signed) HARRISON GRAY OTIS, Jr. 

April 14, 1844. 

But the chivalry and generosity of feeling so much relied upon 
proved to have been entirely gratuitous ; even when I proposed a 
reference to a court of honor, it was refused, and a proposition 
made at Mr. Schott's request, to place the parties face to face, from 
one to six paces apart, was immediately declined. The follow- 
ing is 

Mr. Alston's reply. 

April 14, 1844. 

Dear Sir : — In reply to your note of this afternoon, I have only 

to say that I regret that Mr. Schott declines complying with one 

of the terms, (article 1st,) which as the friend of the challenged 

party, /have a right to claim. They are neither unusual nor un- 



36 

just, nor do I feel myself authorised in consenting to any change, 
I shall, therefore, have my friend on the ground, at five o'clock 
to-morrow morning, and at that hour shall await you at the tavern 
in Bladensburg, to conduct you and your principal to the place I 
have chosen. If this arrangement be not accepted on the part of 
Mr. Schott, I have only to say that this letter, so far as I am con-? 
cerned, closes our correspondence on this subject. 

I am, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) JOSEPH ALSTON. 

Finding, notwithstanding the remonstrances of his friends that 
Mr. Schott, regardless of any inequality, persisted in meeting 
Mr. Butler, even on his own terms, Mr. Otis closed the corres- 
pondence with the annexed letter :— 

Mr. Otis' reply to Mr, Alston's letter. 

April 14, 1844. 

Dear Sir: — In reply to your note handed to me a few moments 
since, I will observe that no objection was taken to any of the 
terms proposed upon which Mr. Schott and Mr. Butler were to 
meet, except that one which required the parties to stand back to 
back, and wheel, and fire ; and this objection was made, because 
Mr. Schott's foot is in such a condition as to render it impractica- 
ble for him to fight in that mode without great disadvantage, and 
giving his adversary an unusual and unequal advantage over him. 
Notwithstanding, it is believed that according to the etiquette and 
rules governing affairs of honor Mr. Schott would be justified in 
declining to meet Mr. Butler under his present physical infirmity, 
and that I consider it disadvantageous to insist upon such unequal 
terms, Mr. Schott will meet Mr. Butler at the time and place, 
and upon the terms prescribed. 

(Signed) HARRISON GRAY OTIS, Jr. 

Joseph Alston, Esq. 



37 

An unusual delay, which ive had no part in causing, occurred 
upon the ground; and after the parties were finally placed, Mr. 
Otis read the following protest : 

Protest read by Mr. Otis on the field. 
" I feel obliged, gentlemen, though I have consented, in the 
name of my principal, that this rencontre shall take place, to state 
that I consider his lameness as disabling him from wheeling, and 
rendering it unequal. I refer to the medical attendants present, 
if it is not a case in point. I owe this statement in justice to 
myself and Dr. McClellan." 

This, however, passed unheeded, and the word of command 
fell to Mr. Otis. A shot was exchanged without effect. After 
another delay, preparations were completed for a second exchange. 
Mr. Schott, on account of his utter disability to wheel, or even to 
support himself upon his right foot, lost his fire, and received 
with front presented, the full and deliberate aim of his adversary. 

Determined that a contest, under circumstances so unequal and 
unfair, should no longer continue, his second, friend and surgeon, 
insisted, notwithstanding Mr. Schott's remonstrance, on with- 
drawing him from the field. 

HARRISON GRAY OTIS, Jr. 

Mr. Smith's letter to Mr. Otis. 

Baltimore, Jipril 17th, 1844. 
At the request of James Schott, Jr., I accompanied him to the 
field as a witness on the 15th inst. I performed this duty with 
the utmost reluctance, from a solemn conviction that the fight 
would not be fair and equal, owing to the diseased condition of 
Mr. Schott's foot, as described in Dr. McClellan's certificate to 
Mr. Otis. After the second shot, it became so manifest to me 
that Mr. Schott could not wheel as required that I felt it due to 
my own character, to interfere and protest against the continu- 



88 

ance of the duel, notwithstanding his entreaties to the contrary. 
Mr. Schott's deportment throughout the whole proceeding was 
calm, dignified, and collected ; nor did he manifest any excite- 
ment till the interference of his friends called it forth. It may not 
be amiss to state, that on Mr. Schott's return to Baltimore, he 
called in Dr. Gibson, the surgeon of the other party, for his advice, 
who stated, in my presence, that his foot was much inflamed, and 
very sensitive to the touch, and he recommended a continuance 
of the application that had been suggested by Dr. McClellan. 
(Signed) S. W. SMITH. 

This statement, which was drawn from Mr. Otis by various 
false and slanderous reports to which malicious persons endea- 
vored to give currency, was the occasion of a reply from Mr. 
Alston, which appeared in the papers. 

Georgetown, South Carolina, 

Jipril 30, 1844. 

A newspaper, containing Mr. Otis' statement of the circum- 
stances connected with the recent duel between Pierce Butler, 
Esq., and James Schott, Jr., Esq., has just been placed in my 
hands. In justice to my principal and to myself, I feel called 
upon to make such comments on his narrative as shall have the 
effect of removing erroneous impressions that may have been 
occasioned by it. 

Mr. Otis appears to consider it singular that the meeting was 
deferred by the challenged party for eight days afer the message 
passed. The challenge was handed to me on Monday, the Sth 
April ; on Tuesday morning, Mr. Butler and myself left Phila- 
delphia, and reached Washington at 11 o'clock on Wednesday. 
The intervening four days were not more than sufficient to allow 
my friend to make the requisite arrangement of his affairs before 
engaging in a serious contest, and to enable me to obtain the 
attendance of a surgeon, as well as to procure the services of 



another friend, as had been agreed upon, as witness of the duel. 
I certainly was not aware that any great haste was either expect- 
or required on my part, as the other party had exhibited no 
extraordinary impatience in demanding satisfaction, but had per- 
mitted a whole month to pass, after receiving the alleged injury, 
before even sending the challenge. Mr, Otis considers the op- 
portunity offered for preparation and practice, during the short 
period after our arrival in Washington, which intervened 
before the duel, as likely to have given Mr. Butler greatly 
the advantage ; but while he reproaches us with an advantage in 
the delay of four days, he totally forgets the four weeks of prepa- 
ration which Mr. Schott indulged himself in before sending the 
hostile message ; and Mr. Otis expresses great surprise at my 
proposition to place the parties back to back, which would require 
them to wheel and fire : he pronounces it " a very uncommon 
mode of warfare ;" and to strengthen his impression, he cites the 
opinion of four unnamed gentlemen, which, he is satisfied, would 
be regarded as decisive in any court of honor. With all due 
deference to such high authority, I think differently ; and my 
own conviction on the subject was confirmed by the replies of all 
the friends of whom I made the inquiry ; and I submit the ques- 
tion, without hesitation, to the decision of that portion of the 
community, which professes to have any acquaintance with the 
etiquette and customs which regulate duels, whether, upon the 
plea of its being unusual for the second of the challenged party 
to require the combatants to wheel and fire, the second of the 
challenger would be considered justifiable in withdrawing him 
from the contest. 

Mr. Otis further observes that his objections on this point were 
more strenuous " because of an unfortunate physical disability in 
his principal." Now let it be remembered that on the Saturday 
evening when the terms of meeting were submitted to him he 
exhibited surprise, and as I think dissatisfaction, with the first 
article ; but nothing was then said of any physical disability on 



40 

Mr. Schott's part. I attributed his reluctance to accede to it, to 
a feeling of disappointment on finding that the parties would be 
required to fight in a manner a little varied from that in which 
his friend had probably become a proficient by the previous 
month's practice. On Sunday, about 12 o'clock, a doctor's note, 
relating " to the anterior and central portion of the sole of the 
right foot," was laid before me ; this, I must confess, did not 
produce the anticipated effect in inducing me to consent to the 
proposed change in the position of the parties. To wheel and 
fire is so simple and easy a movement, that any one who can 
stand up may perform it without the least difficulty ; it requires 
only that the right foot should be moved lightly behind the left, 
being in fact nothing more than a half wheel, and performed by 
any one, with the greatest facility, in less than five minutes 
practice : those who doubt, have but to make the experiment, 
and they will soon be convinced that I am right. I must also 
observe that, after his arrival on the ground, Mr. Schott conti- 
nued to stand for some minutes, and, as I thought, without any 
apparent inconvenience to himself, although one of our carriage 
cushions was twice offered to him as a seat, but declined. 

Mr. Otis proceeds to complain of a want of " chivalry and 
generosity" in my not consenting to place Mr. Butler in such a 
manner as, in his opinion, Mr. Schott's convenience required. 
Now, according to my ideas on the subject, enough of chiv- 
alry and generosity had been exhibited by my friend when he 
insisted on my accepting, in his behalf, a challenge from a man 
whom he had never in any way wronged or insulted. As the 
challenged party, he had certain rights sanctioned by custom, 
of which I was determined he should not be deprived ; and, as 
his second, I had assumed duties from the faithful performance of 
which I was resolved nothing should make me swerve. It 
seems also a matter of astonishment to Mr. Otis, that I would not 
refer article first, to the decision of umpires ; now / do really 
think it would have been extreme folly and weakness on my part 



41 

to have consented to submit as a question to be decided by others, 
that which I regarded as a right already settled in my favor. 

He next adverts to what he now calls a proposition of Mr. 
Schott, to place the parties face to face at the distance of from 
one to six paces. When this was first suggested, I took no 
notice of it, as I did not think it required a reply ; upon its being 
again mentioned, I remarked to him, that his objections to my 
terms must first be admitted before I should hold myself at liber- 
ty to think of any change, and it would then be my right to 
make new propositions. 

Again, he animadverts, with what object I cannot perceive, on 
what he considers an unusual delay on the ground. My reply 
is, that from the moment of our arrival there, we both were 
actively engaged in making the necessary preparations ; namely, 
in selecting two equal and suitable positions for the parties, in 
measuring the distance, loading the pistols, reading the articles of 
combat, and explaining to the principals the mode in which the 
word would be given. After the first fire, I commenced reload- 
ing, as soon as Mr Otis apprised me that his friend wished to go 
on. Mr. Otis next remarks, that Mr. Schott lost his second fire 
by his utter disability to wheel ; this may be his opinion ; it is 
certainly not mine. If his pistol went off before he intended it 
should, it was his own fault. " Mr. Schott then received," as 
Mr. Otis informs us, " with full front presented, the fire of his 
adversary ;" of course he must have wheeled before Mr. Butler 
fired, to have done so. 

I consider the protest read on the ground by Mr. Otis, after 
the principals had taken their places, and at the moment the 
word was about to be given, as both ill-timed and uncalled for; 
and certainly it was not entitled to the least consideration from 
me. The extraordinay course of protesting against a proceeding 
which, as Mr. Schott's friend, he had it in his power to control, 
and to offer a protest against his own act, involve an inconsistency 
which must be palpable to every unprejudiced mind. If he con- 
6 



^ 



42 

sidered my refusal to yield to a change in article first so unjust 
why did he not withdraw his principal at once, as he took the 
responsibility of doing so after the second fire. We were willing 
to go on as long as we should have been required so to do by the 
other party, and I think the result of the duel offers pretty strong 
evidence that the arrangements made by me placed the parties as 
nearly as possible, under all circumstances, upon a footing of 
equality. 

In conclusion, I take occasion to say that, in all the proceed- 
ings and arrangements which have any relation to this duel, I 
acted solely on my own responsibility ; I allowed Mr. Butler no 
voice in the matter ; in my whole course I was governed by a 
stern sense of duty and fairness to all concerned, and never in 
any way sought to obtain an undue advantage for my principal. 
These observations on Mr. Otis' statement should have been fur- 
nished immediately after its appearance, but I left Baltimore for 
South Carolina on the day after the duel, of which intended 
movement I informed Mr. Otis the night previous to the meeting. 

I confess I should have been better pleased, had he offered to 
unite with me in preparing a joint statement to be signed by 
both of us. 

JOSEPH ALSTON. 

As in this statement of Mr. Alston's, he presumed to favor the 
public with an opinion of his own, in regard to the cause of quar- 
rel between his friend and myself, which was injurious to me, I 
felt myself called upon to notice it by a card ; which was the first 
and only occasion in which I departed from the rule my feelings 
prompted me to adopt, of avoiding any movement which would 
place me in the attitude of publicly charging, although only by 
implication or indirection, any thing against Mrs. S. But a pub- 
lic assertion like that, made by an authorised friend of Mr. B. ? 
required an answer as public and as authoritative. 



43 

Baltimore, May 16th, 1844. 

My attention has been called to a newspaper communication 
of the 13th inst, over the signature of Mr. Joseph Alston, in 
reply to a statement made by my friend, Mr. H. G. Otis, Jr., ex- 
planatory of the circumstances attending a late affair of honor in 
which I was involved. 

I feel great reluctance in appearing before the public to notice 
Mr. Alston's statement, (which will be found, for the most part, 
sufficiently answered in Mr. Otis' original paper,) but it contains 
two objectionable passages, which demand a reply. The first 
asserts that I " exhibited no extraordinary impatience in demand- 
ing satisfaction, but permitted a whole month to pass, after re- 
ceiving the alleged injury, before even sending the challenge." 
If Mr. Alston will examine the invitation handed him by Mr. 
Otis, he will find it based upon the following note, addressed to 
his principal in New York, within thirty-six hours (Sunday in- 
tervening) after the injury received : 

Sir : — I scarcely deem it necessary to say to you, that on our 
return to Philadelphia all intercourse between us must cease, and 
that your visits to my family must be discontinued. I trust that 
the time may yet come, when I shall be able, without compro- 
mising others, to vindicate my own honor. 

Your obedient servant, 

JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 
Jisior House, March ilth, 1844. 
Pierce Butler, Esq. 

Mr. Alston was expressly informed by Mr. Otis, that the sub- 
sequent delay was caused by circumstances over which I had no 
control. 

The second passage, in which Mr. Alston speaks of the chiv- 
alry of his friend, in insisting on his accepting, on that friend's 
behalf, " a challenge from a man whom he had never in any way 



44 

wronged or insulted," is the more objectionable, as Mr. A. pre- 
sumes in it publickly and gratuitously to express an opinion on 
the merits of the cause of quarrel between his principal and my- 
self, — a matter in which he could have no personal knowledge. 
All his information on this subject could be derived only from 
his principal. Mr. Butler, in stating that he had " never wronged 
or insulted" me, imposed upon the credulity of his friend by an 
assertion which had no foundation in truth, and wnich I now 
pronounce to be false. The presence of gentlemen of the highest 
character, as witnesses on the field, renders needless any further 
notice of Mr. Alston's remarks. 

Perhaps I owe an apology to the public, upon whose attention 
I should not thus have obtruded, had not justice to myself re- 
quired it. I shall not, hereafter, notice any communication in 
relation, to this matter, made through the medium of the press. 

JAMES SCHOTT, Jr. 

This paper concludes the history of the affair with Mr. Butler, 
of which I do not hesitate to make two remarks : first, that in 
keeping me, — from Sunday, the day when he, through his friend, 
designated the weapons, till Saturday evening, when the arrange- 
ments were completed, — ignorant of his intention to fight by 
wheeling, he took a dishonorable advantage of me, as retaining 
to himself an opportunity to practice that mode of fighting, from 
which I was debarred ; and secondly, that in insisting, through 
his second, upon the field, that I should be compelled to fight in 
that way, when medical testimony then present, — his own sur- 
geon as well as mine, — and my own appearance, must have 
convinced him of my physical inability to do so, — unless at 
the greatest disadvantage, — his motives were still meaner, be- 
cause cowardly and murderous. 

As soon after the meeting with Mr. Butler as the condition of 
my foot would allow me to travel, I went to New Castle, to seek 
leo-al advice of Mr. Clayton as to the steps proper to be pursued 



45 

by me in relation to two objects whicb I had very much at heart, 
— first, to make answer to the charges brought against me by 
Mrs. S. in her affidavit ; and secondly, to obtain a divorce. I 
was well aware that my absence from Philadelphia gave opportu- 
nity to a thousand slanderous accusations, which my enemies 
busily circulated against me, and that my silence under the affi- 
davit was quoted as a proof of the truth of all its statements ; and 
I desired to go to Philadelphia to put in a counter-affidavit, or 
take any other proper legal step, to disprove the charges, and 
confound those who labored so industriously to crush me. I 
learned from Mr. C, to my mortification, that I could not pursue 
both these objects together, without danger of foiling myself in 
the one which my feelings and interests represented as the most 
important, — that is, the divorce. I learned that Mrs S. herself, 
had instituted, or was on the eve of instituting, proceedings to 
obtain a divorce ; grounding her application upon the alleged ill- 
treatment, as charged against me in her affidavit. It was his opi- 
nion, that her application, grounded upon these charges, could not 
be granted, if I should appear and disprove any of them ; and 
that by appearing and disproving them, I should array myself in 
an attitude of actual opposition to the divorce which I most ar- 
dently desired to obtain ; and thereby defeat it. He counselled 
me, therefore, not to go to Philadelphia, — not to appear in answer 
to the affidavit or the application for divorce, but to suffer it to 
go — and thus, in fact, obtain it — by default. He fortified this 
advice by representing, what my own feelings deeply responded 
to, the necessity of maintaining the rule of delicacy which I had, 
up to the present moment, religiously observed ; since it was im- 
possible for me appear in court in any character whatever, with- 
out making disclosures which must harrow the feelings of friends, 
and give notoriety to circumstances which it was my own wish, 
if possible, to cover up in darkness. The following are his writ- 
ten letters of advice : 



46 

New Castle, Delaware, 

April 19 th, 1844. 
Sir: 

Having attentively considered the circumstances of your case, 
as you have reported them to me, and as they appear from the 
various documents presented, I submit the following as my opin- 
ion and legal advice as to the best course which you can pursue. 

The whole case, I need not say, is one peculiarly delicate ; and 
the attempt to carry it into the courts, in any form, could not but 
prove distressing to the feelings of yourself, your friends and of 
numerous innocent persons. You cannot meet the affidavit, nor 
enter a counter affidavit, nor, indeed, take any legal steps whatever 
without giving publicity to circumstances which it were desira- 
ble might be buried in the deepest oblivion, and from which, I 
think, as a man of feeling, you would desire to avert the public 
gaze. I cannot, indeed, counsel you to take any such steps. A 
passive and silent course on your part will be the most dignified, 
and the proper one : and this, sir, is the course which I recom- 
mend you to pursue. There are some situations in this world in 
which it becomes a man to suffer in silence, out of regard to the 
feelings of others. Those of your honored parents and of the 
highly respectable family with which you have been connected 
by marriage, merit a sacrifice of self; and, however painful that 
sacrifice may be, a generous spirit should yield it without a mur- 
mur. If you return to Philadelphia in your present state of dis- 
turbed and exasperated feeling, in the midst of the rumors and 
foolish reports growing out of your late meeting with Mr. Butler 
at Bladensburg, no good can come of it that I can foresee ; while 
I can easily anticipate evils, — among the many who have partici- 
pated on the one side or the other, in the existing excitement, — 
which ordinary prudence could not be expected to avert. I 
advise you not to go back to Philadelphia. If you return to that 
city and resist the legal application, said to be contemplated by 
the opposite party, for a divorce, it is my opinion, from the evi- 



47 

dence before me, that it cannot be obtained. It is not worth 
while to go to Philadelphia merely to be bound over to keep the 
peace. There is no indictment there for you to meet ; nor is 
there any reason to believe that the folly or passion of any one 
could institute any proceeding of a criminal character, requiring 
you to attend there. In regard to the supposed intention to apply 
for a divorce, I advise you to suffer others to adopt such further 
course as they may deem necessary ; to make no opposition ; and 
even facilitate, so far as it may be in your power, such efforts as 
may be made towards effecting that final legal separation, which 
would seem to be the most desirable close of circumstances so 
untoward and unhappy. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

JOHN M. CLAYTON. 

James Schott, Jr., Esq. 

P. S. I omitted to say, in reply to your request on the subject, 
that if my professional aid should at any time be required by you, 
in consequence of action which I do not anticipate, it shall be at 
your service. J. M. C. 

New Castle, Delaware, 

May 30th, 1844. 
My Dear Sir, 

I have resolved on my course as your counsel in the Divorce 
case, after full and deliberate consideration. I intend to let the 
decree go by default, — first, because by that means we adopt the 
course best calculated to facilitate the application and proceedings 
for the divorce — which divorce is of all things most essential to 
your future happiness ; secondly, because by thus not becoming 
a party to the suit, we are not under any implied obligation, hon- 
orary or otherwise, to repel or disprove any accusations which 
lie at the foundation of the whole proceeding. Your defence 
against these accusations cannot be made in this suit, without aban- 



48 

doning all hope of separating yourself from Mrs. Schott. When 
the decree is finally entered, you can set yourself right with your 
friends and the whole world if you choose. The decree will be 
had in the shortest possible time — but I am yet unable to fix the 
time with any precision. 

Faithfully your friend, 

JOHN M. CLAYTON. 
Mr. James Schott, Jr. 

These letters of advice I adopted as my rule of action. I did 
not go to Philadelphia, — I did not appear in court to answer 
either the affidavit or the application for divorce. I instructed 
my counsel to give every possible facility in his power to the 
speedy obtaining of the divorce ; and I have reason to believe 
that he did so. The consequence of this was that the divorce 
was obtained, — obtained on the ex parte testimony of one wit- 
ness, — without any cross-examination on my part, and without 
the slightest knowledge of mine, up to this moment, what the 
testimony is. I have heard, indeed, from a friend, a statement 
that the testimony was of such a character as could have been 
easily contradicted, if I had been at liberty to do so. The con- 
sequence, I repeat, of this action on my part, was that the 
divorce, to my inexpressible satisfaction, was granted. 

Ever since Gen. McNeill's letter of March the 30th was copied, 
I have been the victim of innumerable calumnies. Letters have 
been written, statements made, and copies of that monstrous affi- 
davit circulated in every city, and sent to every place where I 
had an acquaintance or friend. Even after I had, under the ad- 
vice of my counsel, retired to another city, with a view to 
deprive the slanderers of my reputation of any further pretext for 
persecuting me, while suffering in silence under all the former 
calumnies which had been heaped upon me, — nay, even after the 
divorce itself had been obtained, unceasing efforts have been still 
continued to misrepresent, to revile, to calumniate, to destroy 



49 

me. But I am now free ; and, although I still have no desire 
to say one word more in explanation of the unhappy circum- 
stances connected with the occurrence of March, and would 
rather suffer in the esteem of those who do not know me than 
contribute to the further exposure of those who have wronged 
me and sought to crush me forever — I am free, whenever I may 
be called upon, to answer to any charges that have been, or that 
may be, made by any person whatever, and to defend myself 
from, and, if need be, to punish, every assault upon my honor. 

But I will not conclude this statement without proclaiming 
the infamy of Pierce Butler, who, under the mask of friendship, 
ruined the peace and happiness of an unoffending family, and 
then sought to escape the consequences by resorting to the 
meanest artifices, the most cowardly subterfuges, and the most 
despicable falsehoods. 

JAMES SCHOTT, J*. 

Eutaw House, 
Baltimore) July 29, 1844. 



ERRATA. 

Page 8, 4th line of Mr. Goodwin's letter, read " 1 most sin- 
cerely," instead of " I most seriously." 

Page 6, 2nd and 3d lines, read " BUT I DO NOT ADVISE, 
YOU CAN BEST JUDGE," instead of « BUT I DO NOT 
ADVISE YOU, YOU CAN BEST JUDGE." 

Page 11, 14th line of Gen. McNeill's letter, the following note 
should have been inserted after the word " final :"" 

I need only say that the position of umpire was assumed by 
Gen. McNeill, and not delegated by me ; and I have reason to 
believe that Dr. McClellan did not understand that he was to act 
in that capacity. It is clear from the tenor of Mr. Goodwin's 
letter that he did not consider the case as susceptible of adjust- 
ment, and that I entertained the same opinion, may be inferred 
from the fact, that after I received his letter, my correspondence 
with him ceased. I had not time to notice this unwarrantable 
assumption of Gen. McNeill's, and other exceptionable parts of 
his letter, in the hurried protest which 1 made before our depar- 
ture for the city. 



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